Question: Can I get financial aid for graduate school ?ANSWER: The most common form of funding is in form of graduate, research, or teaching assistantships. These assistantships normally include a tuition waiver and a stipend to pay for living expenses.

Graduate students in engineering and science have more chances of getting funding compared to Students in the social sciences and humanities. students in business, law, and medicine receive very little funding at all.

As a TA, a student is expected to assist in teaching undergraduate classes, discussion groups or labs, or to assist a professor in grading.

Question: Is Financial Aid guaranteed ?

ANSWER: US Education for international students is expensive. Unless you have lot of money to spend. So, every student applying for US Universities, College want to get aid to study in U.S. But, there are many facts students don’t understand. Almost every student ask the following question

My GRE Score is –, I want list of Universities that give aid.

Why you will not get Aid?

Not every student applying to college will get aid. Most of the students think there are universities in US that will give aid to them, no matter what GRE Score they have. Do you have the same idea? If yes, then you are wrong.

Colleges can give Aid to only few students. Not every student applying to US Universities get Financial Aid or Scholarship. So, if you are thinking that you can get aid along with admission for your GRE Score, then rethink the idea/imagination you have.

Who will get Financial Aid?

About 30% of students do get aid. But, they have skills and qualifications. Documents they submit shows their value and how they will contribute to the college. If Mr.X has a GRE Score 1300 and have authored few papers and have letter of recommendation from professor known to scientific world, then Mr.X will get aid in the school that accepts students with average GRE Score around 1100. But, same X might not get aid if he applies to school that requires minimum GRE of 1400.

So, if you have the skills and qualification then there is a very good chance to get Financial Aid, Scholarship or Some form of Assistantship along with Graduate School Admission.

Low GRE Score and Financial Aid?

If you have GRE Score below 1000 and you are looking for the list of universities that give Aid for your GRE Score. There is some misunderstanding here. Not every student applying for Admission will get financial aid with admission. You can get admission and after you come here, you should work for a professor and if they are interested in your work habits and performance, then you will get aid. But, assuming that there are Universities in US that will give Financial Aid to all the students is totally wrong.

How to manage expenses?

Well, if you don’t get aid, then you could get part time job, that will help you pay for your monthly living expenses. If you attend schools where cost of living and tuition fees are less then you can save $100 to $200 per month just by working part time job. As F1 students you are allowed to work 20 hours per week. Most of the jobs pays like $6 to $8 per hour.

Question: what is the rough estimate of the expenses that an undergraduate will have in the U.S (including college fees,projest needs and living expenses )

ANSWER: US Universities fall under two major categories: public (state supported), and private (independent) institutions. International students’ tuition expenses at state schools are based on nonresident costs, which are still usually less expensive than those of private universities. It’s important to note that the cost of a program in a US school doesnot necessarily affect its quality. A brief idea can be got from the following table:

University Type

Average Tuition Fees
(annual in U.S. Dollars)

Private Institutions (High Cost)

$ 25,000

Private Institutions (Low Cost)

$ 15,000

State Institutions (High Cost)

$ 20,000

State Institutions (Low Cost)

$ 10,000

The tuition fee is different for different universities and varies widely with courses. It can vary from as low as $ 5000 a year for state universities to as much as $ 30000 per annum for some private universities. For more specific details, please contact the universities.

Living Expenses

The approximate annual living expenses are about $10,000, which includes accommodation as well as other daily expenses. However, the expenses are different for different people depending on the

lifestyles and this is just a rough idea. The main expenses can be split up as:

Rent

$ 400 per month
(you can live alone with that amount in a
place like Auburn or share an apartment
with 6 people in NY)

Groceries

$ 100 per month

Utilities

$ 100 per month

Phone

$ 100 per month

Sundry

$ 200 per month

So, about $1000 per month is a good estimation. Most people can survive with $700-$1000 a month. The key here is to share apartments/houses so that you save on the utilities, fixed charge portion of phone and to some extent on groceries.

Question: Supporting financial documents required for MS applications

I am applying for MS in the US for Fall 2010 session. While completing my application forms I see that along with the application form, I need to submit a Financial Responsibility form.

I understand that I need to submit proof that I would be able to support my education even if I do not receive financial aid. But I wanted to know what all documents would be required for this? Is it only through Bank statements? What if I have the available funds in the form of bonds or in the form of Stocks? What statements would I require in such cases?

ANSWER: You would need a sponsor’s statement, bank statement stating available funds in sponsor’s account for your education expenses and a CA certificate stating the available assets. Click here